Grammar Mechanics: The 10 Deadly sins of Writing Brought to you by the Center for Teaching and Learning

A Quick Note  Don’t worry! This workshop was designed to address the most common grammatical and compositional errors in college writing. That’s why we’re here; to make all of us, including myself, better writers.

SIN #1: The Sentence Fragment  A sentence fragment is a partial or incomplete thought that is used as a complete sentence. In most student writing, sentence fragments are the result of a less formal, more conversational tone.

SIN #1 Sentence Fragment  Ex: When I tripped on the curb.  Re: When I tripped on the curb, I split my pants right down the middle. TIP: Look at your writing. Do you have any sentences that cannot stand alone?

Sin #2: The Run -On  The run-on occurs when two (or more) complete thoughts or phrases are written as a single sentence without separation. Run-ons are generally a result of simple carelessness.

Sin #2: The Run -On Ex: Dave went to the store to buy some beer he forgot his wallet. Re: Dave went to the store to buy some beer, but he forgot his wallet.  Tip: Run-ons are not confined to longer sentences; check the structure of short sentences, too.

Sin #3: The Comma Splice & Fused Sentences  This is a type of run-on sentence where two (or more) complete sentences are connected with only a comma. These types of fused sentences are usually the result the writer trying to tie a complex thought together.

Sin #3: The Comma Splice & Fused Sentences  Ex: Collin works out, he is the strongest guy in the class.  Re: Because Collin works out, he is the strongest guy in the class. TIP: Review your work. If one sentence can easily be read as two complete sentences, it is probably a comma splice or fused sentence.

Sin #4: Lack of Agreement  A lack of agreement occurs when the subject does not agree with the verb (both not singular or both not plural).

Sin #4: Lack of Agreement  Ex: The girl run fast down the street.  Re: The girl runs fast down the street TIP: Try to pay close attention to the verb and its subject(s) or a pronoun and its antecedent(s). Do they agree?

SIN #5: Inconsistent Tense  You can have inconsistent tense when the tense of two (or more) verbs in a sentence do not agree.

SIN #5: Inconsistent Tense  Ex: She forgot that she needs to do some homework for her math class.  Re: She forgot that she needed to do some homework for her math class. Tip: When you have multiple verbs in one sentence, pay close attention to the tense.

SIN #6: Incorrect Homophone  A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but has a different meaning.

SIN #6: Incorrect Homophone  Ex. To, too and two Incorrect: To many people came to the party.  Correct: Too many people came to the party Incorrect: He went too the bank  Correct: He went to the bank  Ex. Their, there and they’re  Ex. Effect and Affect

Sin #7: Dangling Modifiers  Simply put, dangling modifiers describe or reference words that never actually appear in a sentence.

Sin #7: Dangling Modifiers  Ex: Driving down the street, the weather seemed to be changing rather quickly.  Re: Driving down the street, I noticed the weather seemed to be changing rather quickly. Tip: Try not to carelessly add descriptive phrases to a sentence. Pay attention to the phrases in a sentence and what they modify.

Sin #8: Passive Voice  With a passive voice, the subject of a sentence becomes the receiver of the action. Basically, nothing or no one is performing the action.

Sin #8: Passive Voice  Ex: The haunted house at the top of the hill was greatly feared by us.  Re: We feared the haunted house at the top of the hill. Tip: Unless you absolutely need an passive verb, change it to the active voice.

SIN #9: Redundancy  As the term implies, redundancy is the overuse or needless use of words.

SIN #9: Redundancy  Ex: She was totally the tallest girl in the classroom. Re: She was the tallest girl in the classroom.  Ex: To fix the car, you will need both a wrench and a screwdriver. Re: To fix the car, you will need a wrench and a screwdriver.  Tip: Go through your work and look for descriptive words you often use when speaking – these tend to be redundant in college-level writing.

Sin #10: Inexactness/Imprecision  When writing, make sure you use words and phrases which correctly convey your meaning.

Sin #10: Inexactness/Imprecision  Ex: In an attempt to levitate the situation, the police officer backed off a few steps.  Re:In an attempt to alleviate the situation, the police officer backed off a few steps. Tip: Don’t try and stretch your vocabulary. If needed, grab a dictionary to find the best word. Also, try and avoid extremely pretentious wording.

Don’t forget… Check out our workshop schedule on the CTL website at If you need further assistance, contact the CTL at or